Twenty Minutes
by Katie Brown Eyes
Summary: She awkwardly pats Peeta on the shoulder and scurries out of the room to join Sae and Katniss. Peeta, still frozen, needs to remind himself how to breathe. His voice cracks when he says more to himself than to Haymitch, "Twenty minutes. I'll be a father in twenty minutes." Rated T for safety. Can be read as a continuation of my other stories. **A birthday present for Roxy!
1. Preface

_I'm back! Credit goes to Roxy. I obviously had to write her something for her birthday! I hope you all like this._

_**Also, Katniss mentions how she works at the medicines factory. I just had it in my head that she would help with the identification of plants and such, so that's where the medicine factory reference comes from. Enjoy and review please!_

* * *

So, I'm not really sure how this happened. Well, I know _how_ it happened, I just… OK.

I'm pregnant.

I knew for three weeks before I told Peeta. We weren't planning for a baby, but we weren't adamantly against the idea either. Actually, Peeta really wanted kids. He always has. And after fifteen years, I finally admitted to myself that having Peeta's child wouldn't be as terrifying as I thought. I noticed how Peeta would pay attention to the young children in our growing district, how he is always so kind and always says the right things. There is a young girl, about eight, that is always in the bakery with her older brother.

I was in the bakery one day and noticed her, noticed how her soft blonde hair falls into her eyes. Her grey eyes. I know Peeta sees her and thinks that if we were to have a child it would look like the girl. After a few months I began to think the same thing.

It's very strange, the idea of me having children. I was always so adamantly against it. How could I bring a child into this world seeing what I've seen? Knowing all that I know about this world and the horrors it hides? What if something awful happened and the games came back? I could never watch my child being reaped. Especially mine and Peeta's child. It would kill me.

We've had this discussion, me and Peeta. He insists the games won't come back. The world has changed, the districts won't allow it, and the Capitol wouldn't dare try. Even if he is right, what about me? My nightmares? Even Peeta's episodes, which have gotten smaller and fewer, would need explaining. I don't know how I would begin to explain all of these things to our child.

But Peeta wanted them so badly. He insisted that if I didn't want them, he didn't either. Over and over again he assured me that it was up to me. If he couldn't have children with me, he didn't want them at all.

I believe him, I know he's telling me the truth, but I still see that it hurts.

He came home from the bakery one night, tired and quiet. We ate a large serving of rabbit stew and some rolls as I told Peeta about my day at the medicine's factory while he listened with a smile. They had brought in a new group of kids from the school, so me and another worker gave them a small lesson on easily-identifiable plants. The girl, with my eyes and Peeta's hair, was there.

I brought it up, how I knew that Peeta was thinking about kids again. At this point I still wasn't convinced, and he didn't try to push me either. He just smiled softly at me and leaned his head on my shoulder. Flecks of flour were still in his hair and on his clothes, and I could smell the cinnamon on him. His blue eyes rolled up to meet mine, and with a lazy smile he whispered,

"I love you."

He's done this before, looked at me like that and said those things. For some reason I felt it in my heart. For a split second I was thinking about what our baby would look like, and how I hope that it would have Peeta's eyes.

It has been part of my medicine regiment to take a small dose of birth control ever since I shot Coin. Dr. A said that he wasn't sure what the Capitol gave me and Peeta, but that it is very likely they made it so we can't have children. The birth control was to prevent any, um, "accidents" while I was still unstable. I just never stopped taking it.

I kissed him and said that maybe if we had a baby, it wouldn't be so bad after all.

So that night, with Peeta covered in flour and feeling a bit reckless, I suggested in a hushed whisper that I stop taking the birth control and we can see what happens. It wasn't a promise exactly, because we had no idea if I could even get pregnant.

Peeta's reaction was worth whatever stress I had. At first he just looked at me, his face blank with a look of shock slowly creeping into his eyes. He whispered, "What?!" I laughed at him and repeated myself.

His face lit up and he wrapped me in his arms, my feet didn't even touch the floor. He buried his face in the crook of my neck, kissing me and laughing at the same time. To see him so happy made up for every worry I could possibly have. I kissed his lips and brushed the flour from his face, reminding him that this doesn't necessarily mean I will get pregnant. He smiled anyway. I think it meant more to him that I finally felt good about having a child with him.

Of course, it wasn't having a child with Peeta that worried me. It was me being a parent, being unable to protect our baby from the world, and having to explain everything later on. With Peeta as a father, I don't think I need to worry about this baby at all.

Two months went by, then four, then six, and we had both thought that was it. We came to the conclusion that I wouldn't be able to conceive. Peeta took it better than I thought. He was sad, and I was sad in turn. But he repeated to me again that if he couldn't have kids with me, he didn't want them.

A few months after that, during a visit to Greasy Sae, she made me take a pregnancy test because I had been sick more than a handful of times that month. I finally relented just to make her shut up, and I cried when the results came back positive. I don't know if I was happy or sad, or just surprised.

Like I said, it took me three full weeks to tell Peeta. I ended up blurting it out over dinner one night, and I was about to prepare for him to have an episode when he didn't stop staring at me for a full ten minutes. I was starting to get worried, but then he jumped up from his seat and held me so tight I laughed and made a joke that he would hurt the baby. He let go imediently and mustered a small laugh before his lips attacked mine. He held me to him, our bodies pressed together with one hand resting on my stomach and the other gently holding onto my waist.

The next few months were varied, to say the least. Peeta never stopped being excited, but my moods varied and I blamed the pregnancy. I was still happy; at this point I knew that I could never regret this. But I was still so worried. When my stomach started to jut out and I felt our baby move inside me, my worries came rushing back. I cried one night while Peeta held me, and I tried to explain that I wasn't crying because I regret the baby. Now that I have this person growing inside me I wouldn't have it any other way. I was just thinking about how we could possibly explain what happened in our lives. What if, when our child gets older, he or she asks how me and Peeta met? What if they ask why their mother needs to shut the door and cry for seemingly no reason?

Peeta holds me and tells me it will be alright. I know it will be when I look at him and feel his hand on the raised part of my stomach. It will be fine, but it will also be hard.

So that's why I'm writing this down in the book. So one day, when I don't know how to explain things to you, you will always know that your parents wanted you. I may have worried, but in no way were you an accident or a mistake.

….Also, remember to call Haymitch "grandpa" once in a while. Once he found out about you he insisted on "Uncle Haymitch", but "grandpa" is much more fun. For us, anyway.

* * *

_YAY! Also, the next chapter will be back to the regualr format. I thought it would be fun to make this preface a letter, but it's only for the preface!_


	2. Story

_Here's the last part! Hope you like this Roxy dear ;D Also, there is a bit of a Peeta's point of view section. Yay!_

_**Review please! They are like early Christmas presents!_

* * *

Eight months. I've been pregnant for eight months, although it feels like eight years. It probably feels longer to Peeta, though. For the first few months I was a bit crazy to say the least. The good kind, though. I actually called Peeta a few times so he could leave the bakery and we could have sex. A lot of sex. Then at around the fifth month I didn't want anything to do with him and instead ate everything in the house. Currently I'm moody and nervous, and we're both sick of me now. Haymitch stumbles over occasionally, instructed by Peeta to help me with things because he knows I would try to attempt them on my own and fail.

Haymitch is still a drunk, but it comes and goes. I feel a rush of rare affection for him when he lets slip that he's trying to cut back because of the baby. He said to me, "At least one of us might have a chance of being normal."

* * *

I'm sitting on the couch when it hits me. I sharp pain in my lower abdomen that I dismiss as a random side effect of pregnancy. I go back to reviewing the plant book, quizzing myself because there isn't anything else to do. Peeta is in the kitchen, nosily shuffling around and baking some cheese buns for me. I turn the page and come across Peeta's drawing of a katniss plant when I feel it again.

My heart starts pounding because now I know what this is. It's a side effect of pregnancy alright: I'm having the baby.

"Peeta?"

He doesn't hear me, still shuffling around pans.

"Peeta?"

"Hey, did you want rosemary on these? I know last time it made you sick, but that was a month ago so…"

"Peeta!"

My hand is on my stomach when he peeks around the corner, the expression in his blue eyes asking me what's wrong.

"No rosemary, then?"

"I'm having the baby."

We stare at each other, my grey eyes locked onto his blue ones, as we both realize what is happening. Our baby. I'm having our baby, right now.

"Oh my god."

I'm met with that pain again, but its worse. Peeta rushes over and I feel his hand on mine. He's whispering things in my ear. I manage to get out, "Get Sae." He nods and helps me stand up, but I don't think I can make it up the stairs to our room. Instead I lay down on a guest bed in a room next to the kitchen that we never use.

Peeta kisses me so sweetly that I think I might cry.

"I'm getting Haymitch, and he'll get Sae. I'll be right back."

He takes off running and I hear him yelling to Haymitch as he exits the house. I only have time to take a deep breath, look down at my huge stomach, and wish that my mother was here. Peeta rushes into the room, back already, and is holding my hand. I feel another contraction and I know they're getting worse. The panic is starting to set in, and I see that Peeta is concerned as well. I look at him, and he could still be the boy that held me all those nights on the train. Considering all that we've been through, we hardly look older than twenty-five. It must be all those "beauty regiments" from the Capitol.

He kisses my hair line and leans close to me, sitting on the side of the bed so I can inch over and half lean on him.

"I love you. You can do this."

"I'm scared."

I hate how small I sound. Just then Greasy Sae rushes in, birthing supplies in hand, and shoots me a reassuring smile. She pulls out a few bottles of medicine and some strips of cloth as she talks.

"Now I know you're both scared, but everything will be fine. Katniss is healthy, and I've delivered more babies than I can remember. Now Peeta, stop looking like you're gonna be sick and go join Haymitch in the kitchen."

I instantly look up at Peeta, not wanting him to leave me. He opens his mouth to protest when Sae interrupts him.

"I know you want to stay, Peeta. Believe me, I know. Remember how I just said I've delivered more babies that I can count? Trust me, it will be better if you wait in the kitchen."

I look up at Peeta again, knowing he'll have to listen to Sae or else be forced out of the room.

"Peeta…"

He kisses me on the lips, soft and tender and I don't want him to ever pull away. He rests his forehead against mine and I see his adams apple bob up and down.

"You know I don't want to leave. I'll be back soon, alright? Listen,"

His hands are in my hair again,

"You're the strongest person I know. Everything will be fine."

I manage a nod, Peeta kisses me one more time, and then it's just me and Sae. She tells me that Annie will be here shortly. She was staying in town with Delly for a few weeks to give me pregnancy advice, although I guess now she'll be here helping me actually have the baby. I'm glad, because she's done this before and she is maybe the only one who will know exactly what I'm feeling. I begin to answer her when I'm silenced by another pain, sharper than the last. Everything hurts now, and I wish Peeta would come back.

Annie is in the room already, beaming at me with her green eyes sparkling. Sae gives me some liquid medicine and says it will help with the pain. Right away it dulls it a little, but not enough. By the time the sun starts to set I'm screaming in pain, trying to muffle it as hard as I can. I can practically feel Peeta's worry in the next room. Through the blinding pains I insist Annie gives Peeta updates every fifteen minutes, although they're mostly updates for me to know if he's passed out yet. More pain, only slightly more medicine, and I lose track of time.

* * *

"Relax, boy. She's lived through worse. And stop pacing! You'll wear a hole through the damn floor."

Peeta is pacing back and forth, his hands in his blonde hair. He tried finishing the bread, but he burned a loaf listening to Katniss' screams and settled to pacing in front of Haymitch, who was sitting in a large armchair like it was a regular Tuesday.

"Relax!? Haymitch, MY WIFE IS HAVING A BABY!"

"You don't say!"

Haymitch rolls his eyes and takes a swig from a bottle of white liquor he had brought along for Peeta but started himself.

"I told you not to get drunk, Haymitch." Said Peeta, with an edge to his voice and his hands running through his hair so roughly a few of his blonde tresses fell to the floor.

Haymitch scoffs and rolls his eyes yet again, taking another swig. "Now I'm insulted! All my years of drinking and you don't think I'm able to pace myself? Why don't you have a go so I don't have to deal with this damn pacing any longer?" He holds out the bottle in Peeta's direction but is met with a scowl.

Katniss lets out another scream, causing Peeta to stop dead in his tracks.

"I can't do this Haymitch. This is killing me." He stops pacing, now suddenly cemented to the floor. He buries his face in his hands and tries to drown out her screams, which feel to him like a knife in the chest every time. Haymitch, trying to cover his concern with sarcasm and rude words as usual, stands up now.

"Listen kid, she'll be fine. Old Sae and that crazy girl from District four will take care of her. Don't go worrying yourself into an episode, cause it seems to me that Mockingjay in there is doing all the work and you have the easy job."

Peeta looks up at Haymitch, furious at first, then relents and continues pacing. Both men look up when Annie steps into the kitchen, a slight smile on her face.

"She's doing well, Peeta. The baby is almost here."

Met with blank stares, Annie continues.

"It should be about twenty minutes. You'll be a father in twenty minutes."

She awkwardly pats Peeta on the shoulder and scurries out of the room to join Sae and Katniss. Peeta, still frozen, needs to remind himself how to breathe. His voice cracks when he says more to himself than to Haymitch, "Twenty minutes."

Haymitch steps forward so him and Peeta are standing shoulder to shoulder, then wordlessly holds out the bottle of liquor again. This time Peeta takes a swing without a word.

* * *

And just like that, with one final push and a scream, Sae is holding my baby up to show me. The first thing I register is the mop of thick hair on my baby's head. Brown, like mine. So tiny, so so tiny that I don't know how this baby could be real. I snap back to reality when I hear her cry for the first time, big strong lungs. _Her_. We have a girl, with ten fingers and ten toes that I count right away when Sae holds her up to show me. I'm crying hysterically now, not because I'm worried or scared, but because I'm already so in love with this baby that I don't know how to handle it. Annie has gone to get Peeta, and I can't take my eyes off of my little girl being wrapped loosely in a light blue blanket by Sae. Then Peeta walks in and his eyes go straight to me, worried at first when he sees me crying but then ecstatic when he sees my smile. Our eyes lock for I don't know how long until Sae is standing a step away from him with our baby in her arms. I don't know the name for the expression on his face, which looks like how I feel. Why was I ever afraid of this?

Annie holds out the baby and tells Peeta to hold her, but all he does is stare dumbly back at me and say, "Her?"

I just nod, and Peeta gently takes our daughter in his arms and gazes down at her. This is the best thing I've seen, I know it. Peeta in his flour-stained kakis and light green shirt, his hair sticking up in all directions, holding a piece of us wrapped in light blue fabric like she'll disappear any second. I know that Peeta loves her right away like I did. Sae gives him a small nudge and nods towards me, telling him to come over to me. He takes three of the quietest steps over to me and sits like he was doing before, then gives her to me. I stare at her small, perfect pink face for such a long time. She's still crying a bit but I don't care, all I notice is a flash of blue when her eyes open for a split second. I'm hysterical again.

"She has your eyes, Peeta! She has your eyes!" I lean close to her and cry some more, and I feel Peeta's strong arm around me. I hear Annie say that all babies have blue eyes when they're born but I choose to ignore it, absolutely thrilled that our baby has Peeta's eyes. I look up at Peeta, finding him staring at me now. His eyes are full of tears and he kisses me right away, pushing a strand of sweaty hair behind my ear.

"I love you so much."

I'm trapped in my own world with nothing but our baby and Peeta when I faintly hear Annie say that they need to clean her off a bit more, so after about fifteen minutes of waiting I finally relent and hand her over to Sae. Now I turn and look at Peeta, who has moved onto the bed closer to me so I can fully lean into his chest with his arm around me. I curl up into him and bury my face in the crook of his neck. I can feel his thumb tracing small circles on my shoulder. I look up at him and just smile, and he returns it. I realized I didn't say anything back to him before.

"I love you too."

He lets out a small laugh and kisses me, one hand in my hair. He pulls me closer to him so our bodies curve together in our sitting position, his lips deliciously tangled with mine as he kisses me like he'll never get another chance to. I sigh into him and he pulls me even closer. I think for a moment that if I didn't just give birth our clothes would be off in seconds. Instead his lips linger on mine for another second and we separate, allowing his lips to graze my cheek and for Sae to hand our daughter back to me.

* * *

Two months later I still can't believe how much I love her. Peeta and I decided to call her Renn, which I know means water lily. She still has her blue eyes, and the small patch of brown hair on her head is thin and soft. Her crib is still in our room; I'm not ready to move her across the hall.

Peeta rolls over so he's facing my back, his lips brushing against my exposed shoulder blade. I roll over half way so I'm on my back and Peeta wraps one arm around me, resting his head in the crook of my neck. He kisses me, his lips firm against mine and I feel shivers run down my spine.

I don't care how long we've been married or how many kids we have, Peeta always seems to make my heart stop in situations like these. He kisses me again, warm and soft and I hook one leg around him. He pulls away and kisses my jaw when I say the thing I've been trying to say for two months.

"Thank you."

He looks at me, puzzled then smug.

"That kiss was pretty great, wasn't it?"

I laugh and roll my eyes. He knows that wasn't what I was talking about, so he asks me, "For what?"

"For Renn."

The smile on his face reaches his eyes when I say this, and he plants a kiss on my bottom lip.

"I think I should be thanking you."

I kiss him again and tilt my head so I can see Renn in her crib, watching her little chest move up and down.

"Do you still worry about her?" He asks.

"Sometimes. But I guess that's normal now that she's here."

Peeta leans closer to me so his nose brushes against my cheek.

"I won't let anyone hurt her." He kisses my cheek. "Or you."

I make eye contact with him and start the conversation that I know I need to have, for me more than anything.

"Nothing will hurt her. Nothing. And she won't be hungry."

Peeta knows where I'm going with this, so he picks up.

"No one will hit her, or yell at her."

"She'll be able to run around and play and I'll teach her about the woods without worrying about peacekeepers and Capitol cameras. I'll be there for her, no matter what. I won't leave like my mother did."

"Me too."

"And she'll know how to sing, too."

"And bake bread."

"And when she asks about the games, we'll tell her nothing like that will ever happen to her."

"We'll say she's safe."

"Because she will be."

"And we'll teach her about our nightmares, about how they might hurt but it doesn't matter because we have her. And each other."

I don't think I can say anymore; I feel my throat swell and the tears fill my eyes. Good ones, though. Peeta kisses me on the lips one more time before we fall asleep.

* * *

_I LOVE THEM SO MUCH._


End file.
